Donny van de Beek believes Harry Maguire showed “big personality” with his reaction to the booing during the opening stages of Manchester United’s pre-season friendly against Crystal Palace in Melbourne.
The pre-season tour is going to plan for Erik ten Hag as United have won three matches from three. On top of that, the performances have been encouraging.
Anthony Martial opened the scoring against Palace before Marcus Rashford and Jadon Sancho finished the scoring as United’s attacking trio from the starting XI got on the scoresheet.
Palace scored a consolation goal near the end thanks to Joel Ward, but they weren’t at the races on Tuesday. United were far superior to another pre-season opponent…
Van de Beek came on in the second half and registered his first goal contribution on tour when he set up Rashford. The Dutch midfielder, who will be eager to impress in a United shirt this season, thinks Maguire bounced back well from the boos with a strong performance.
“I heard as well,” Van de Beek told Goal. “I didn’t know really what happened.
“But I think if I saw the game today I think Harry was playing really well.
“He was aggressive, he got so many balls, so that means he has a big personality.
“He has a lot of experience, so I think that’s positive what he (showed), his performance today.”
The negativity that surrounds Maguire right now isn’t helpful and I think social media has a lot to answer for on that front.
Maguire is a player I have criticised over the past 12 months, but it’s not difficult to get your head around the fact that he could easily fit into the manager’s plans next season.
Look at his ability to bring the ball out of the play. I don’t think Raphael Varane is as good at that.
